Sound of Music Daughter Dies

Agathe von Trapp, oldest daughter of famed singing family, dead at 97

(Newser)
–
Agathe von Trapp has climbed her last mountain. The oldest daughter of the musical family whose legendary escape from Nazi-occupied Austria was the basis for the equally legendary The Sound of Music died Tuesday at age 97. Agathe, a guitarist, was represented in the film by "I am 16-going-on-17" Liesl. But she wasn't nearly as outgoing as Liesl, according to long-time friend Mary Louise Kane, who lived with von Trapp for five decades. The two ran a kindergarten together until 1993, reports the AP.

Though Agathe admired the movie, she felt it misrepresented her father as too strict and not as the loving, caring parent he was, Kane said. "She cried when she first saw it because of the way they portrayed him," Kane said. "She said that if it had been about another family she would have loved it." Agathe's death leaves four surviving members of the Trapp Family Singers: Maria, 96; Rosmarie, 81; Eleonore, 79; and Johannes, 71.

Agathe von Trapp, whose family's story became the basis for "The Sound of Music," is seen in an undated photo provided by Mary Louise Kane.
(AP Photo/Mary Louise Kane)

The Trapp Family Singers, whose story was the basis for “The Sound of Music,” during a 1946 U.S. tour. Agathe von Trapp, in the first row, far right, died Tuesday..
(AP Photo/Courtesy Lindstrom Literary Management)

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